I Really LoveHate You
by Reiko Matsuki
Summary: A family of three move to Suna from the icy mountains to keep afloat since their funds are nearly depleted. They agree to work for the Kazekage in exchange for a temporary place to stay. His own home with his three children. Everything would be going fine... if it wasn't for the fact that Reiko had to start a year long war with the jinchuriki of the village. Gaara/OC Sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1: The Hot, Hot Sun

"I hate the heat! I hate this sand! I hate this cactus!" a young redhead with a distinct scar across her eye ranted. Her purple haired sister laughed at her, making the redhead let out a cat like hiss. "Shut it Reiko!" she growled.

"Make me, firecrotch!" the two put their heads together so they could growl and glare up close. It was almost if there was a certain spark in their glares and in Reiko's case, there was.

"Don't tempt me, whore!" she said, gripping the purple haired girl's shirt.

"Why don't you take a joke, Bryn? Or is that stick up your ass too much for you to handle?" unlike the snarling Bryn, Reiko held a sneer-like grin on her face.

"Bitch!"

"Cunt!"

"Strumpet!"

"Ass!"

"Ha! I win, that one was already said!" Bryn shouted triumphantly.

"Not so fast, carpet muncher, I was talking about your ass, I didn't call you one! I WIN!" Reiko scoffed back.

"I swear, don't make me come back there, I'll beat the shit out of both of you!" Yelled a man who had white hair and a black hairline. He was a strongly built and muscular twenty something year old, an obvious ninja but no headband to be seen. He had a backpack on his back and one over his left shoulder. Reiko had a large sword, about as tall and as wide as her, slung around one shoulder so it was plain to see she was a ninja too. Finally, Bryn had a katana on both hips and a backpack on her back. A ninja as well. Both Reiko and Bryn were almost teens of the same age.

"Sorry Haru." They said in semi unison. Reiko pulled her glare away first and set her sights forward. She pushed up the hood of her cloak a little bit when it fell in her face. The way it pushed on her ears softly and forced them to stay flat to her head annoyed her to no end. Oh, and not her human ears. Hidden under her cloak was, not only a rocking body, but large fox ears and a tail. Bryn was a cat and Haru was a wolf. By the looks on their faces, well, Bryn's, it looked like it also agitated her. It was harder to hear with her ears in this position as well, making her even more edgy than normal.

"Haru! Why do we have to move from the SNOWY MOUNTAINS to an EXTREMELY HOT DESERT?! This makes no sense!" challenged the fuming cat. Reiko put a finger to her lips, thinking about their current situation.

"Yeah Haru, it makes no sense. Why would we come out of hiding and to the hottest place you could possibly think of? We were doing perfectly fine there…" Reiko took this a little calmer and began to worry about the circumstances that would cause them to do something so drastic.

Haru froze, "Listen, Reiko, Bryn…" he turned back to face them, "I ran into some trouble."

"Trouble?" Bryn asked, a softer tone in her voice now.

"Yes, trouble… the money we had is almost depleted. We couldn't stay in the mountains any longer or we would have died of starvation. I sent letters to all of the kages, asking for work. I had to tell them who and what we are…" he knelt so he was at eye level with them, "and the only one who wanted anything to do with us was the Kazekage, the leader of the village hidden in the sand. That's why we have to move to the desert. We will all be placed on teams, or rather we'll tag along with teams. You two, because of your age, will be put on genin teams. It's unclear what ranking team I'll be put on. It'll depend on how I do in a fight which will happen after we settle in." After hearing this, Reiko reached her pinky out for her sister's. When Bryn got the message, she silently grasped Reiko's hand, most likely wanting the comfort as well. Seeming to gain some energy, Bryn set forth a new glare.

"But if we have no more money, where will we stay?! How do you expect us to survive on the streets?!" she gripped Reiko's hand a bit tighter, clawed fingers pressing into the skin. Feeling the tenseness in her hand alone, she rubbed a thumb over the back of her hand.

"Already been covered. We'll stay at the Kazekage's own home till we can find the money to buy our own house… or apartment rather." He seemed to contemplate something for a moment. "Oh, and girls?" They looked directly at him, ready for the last bit of information he was going to give them, "You may not be able to take off the cloaks… ever. That all depends on the Kazekage."

Bryn opened her mouth to start some sort of banter but stopped, realizing all of them, including her, weren't in the mood for anymore negativity till they got there. Haru stood and turned, beginning to walk again, shielding his face from the flying grains of sand stirred up from the wind the hood of his cloak. Reiko and Bryn followed close after him. after gaining some courage, Reiko spoke up first.

"Brother?" she peeped.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning to her, away from the wind.

"Thank you for always taking such good care of us… I appreciate it." Before Haru could respond, Bryn threw in a quick, mumbled, 'me too'. Smiling, Haru knelt and pulled them both in for a hug which they accepted. "I love you brother."

"I love you too." Haru's voice broke slightly. "You too, Bryn." being a little more teasing this time.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." after a few short laughs, the long trek across the desert continued. There was a happier air around the three as they clawed their way up huge dunes and slid down the other sides, sometimes tumbling down them, giggling and laughing the whole way. By the time they reached the gates, it was dusk. The sun was starting to turn the sky a light pinkish purple and the thin wispy clouds hot pink. Reiko admired the way the colors blended and flowed perfectly with one another. She wished she could put such an image on a canvas and stare at it all day but sadly, she could never capture the actual image and beauty of such a sight. Continueing to the guards, Haru handed them the letter from the Kazekage and one of them gestured for them to follow. Both men were rather gruff looking men.

Walking into the village, Reiko noticed the distinct lack of color. She frowned. The sluggishly fading light didn't help since the walls nearly covered the whole sky. It was a sunless void of a village and she wasn't quite sure she liked it. Feeling a soft brush along her arm, she looked down and noticed Bryn had bumped her with a shoulder. Peering her eyes up into her sister's, she noticed a determined gleam in her eyes. She never was one to comfort but inspire. Compassion was Reiko's corner which worked well. The two were complete opposites but complimented each other in every department. Reiko could almost feel the courage flood her system and she stood taller, chest high and chin up. Haru took a quick peek back at them and smiled at what his eye's beheld. Turning forward, a smirk played at his lips.

The walk to the Kazekage tower was a short one but full of villagers stopping in their tracks and gawking at them as if they were returned fallen heros. In Bryn's eyes, they probably were despite never having been to such a place since infancy. Mothers were pulling their children close to themselves and some picked their children up. With a sudden want to disperse the sudden tense air, Reiko sharply jutted her hip out and hit Bryn's. She stumbled to the side and her hand was dragged from her sister's with the force. A sudden grin bent her features. Barks of laughter came from the two as they proceed in chasing each other about the street, being sure to keep the hoods in place.

As they finally reached the tower, Reiko and Bryn had calmed down to small pushes and slight giggles. The inside of the tower, however, had a different effect on Reiko's composure. All fun and games stopped when she took the first step into the room. Even with the hot weather outside, this place seemed icy cold. Not the good kind either. After taking a step in, all seemed tense. Even the gruff man seemed to grow uncomfortable. To keep her distracted from the atmosphere, she recited a song in her head. Bryn took the challenge on and attempted to keep on an intimidating facade with the weight of the ominous atmosphere baring down on the both of them. Well, all three of them but Haru obviously wasn't fazed by the sudden change.

They walked a long, dim hall with off white walls, the color of sand. The doors straight ahead were being blocked by Haru and the gruff man but she could guess that it was similar to the walls in the texture. There were other doors down the hall that had no signs, nothing to tell you that where you were going was correct. Only once did Reiko see another man in the halls and that was down one of the very few other halls that intersected this one. He was tall and bulky, face set in a permanent glare. With a small shuffle of her feet, she tried to stay out of his field of vision. As she did so, she bumped right into Haru who had stopped for some reason or another.

A sharp, swift knock was made clear throughout the hall and the gruff man spoke.

"Lord Kazekage, the three you requested to see have arrived." He waited for a reply.

"Bring them in." Said a deep voice from inside. The gruff man opened the door for them and they all walked in. This room was different. It felt as if it was serious and… murderous? Why murderous? Reiko turned back and saw at the back of the room, a redhaired boy about their age. For whatever reason, he was glaring daggers at the man she assumed to be the Kazekage. Speaking of the Kazekage, he had two others at his side. A young boy and girl. One was blond but the other was wearing a hood so you couldn't tell, but he had purple face paint on. The Kazekage payed no mind to the children or the redhead though. What did Haru get them into? The boy's eyes darted to hers and she puffed out her chest with her chin high, feeling that she didn't deserve that kind of look from someone she didn't know. What put firecrotch in such a bad mood? And no, not Bryn.

"Lord Kazekage." Haru said in an official voice. When he bowed, Bryn and Reiko followed suit, bowing with him. The Kazekage seemed to glance all of them in a quick once over. They rose.

"Why are you wearing those cloaks?" He asked with his eyes taking a quick peek at the boy in the back.

"Well, we wouldn't want to alarm your villagers. Strange creatures roaming around? You'd have quite the panic on your hands." Haru had a very familiar smirk on his face. It was the one he used when he had no other face to make. It was more of a reflex than a deliberate action.

"Strange creatures?" questioned the blond girl by his side. Haru's eyes gleamed in amusement. Bryn just scoffed which put blondey in a bad mood now. Reiko put on a smile and stepped on her sister's foot. She made a small noise in response but most likely, none of them heard.

"You haven't told them, Lord Kazekage? If we are all to live in the same house, they should know, correct?" His mouth twitched, holding back a laugh. Thankfully, it didn't sound prominent in his voice.

"Living with us?!" said the girl and boy now; the redhead still silent. Haru was now visibly holding back a laugh that Reiko knew would come out once they left hearing distance of the Kage. Of course the most immature of them all had to be the oldest. "Father," continued the blonde, a bit more composed, "you can't be serious!" Finally, the Kazekage put his hand up to stop anymore interruptions. The girl, obviously more intelligent, stopped but the boy in the hood was having none of it.

"We are not living with them! Why should we have to?!" he was shouting so loud, even Bryn cringed.

"Kankuro!" Said the man sternly, causing Kankuro to stop his rant and to just sit there and pout like a child. Haru put his hand to his mouth, nearly giggling. Reiko shook her head at her brother yet she herself had a smile on her face.

"Yes, they will be staying with us and I don't want to hear anymore of it." Composing himself, he made a gesture towards all of them, saying, "Take off the cloaks." Reiko pulled her hood down first to rub her sore ears, taking her cloak off and holding it in one arm. All eyes were on them, well, their ears and tails. Reiko was still stroking one of the ears when both Kankuro and the other girl admired them.

"What are they?" The girl asked as if they didn't understand. Bryn turned to her with a glare.

"Humans you ignorant bi-" Reiko smacked a hand over her mouth, placing darkness over it so she wouldn't talk or make any rude comments. Bryn struggled with the darkness for a moment before giving up and settling for a glare at the girl. With the way she looked, she resembled the boy in the back, Reiko thought.

Speaking of him, Reiko turned back. He was staring like everyone was. He seemed to be staring at the tail, probably trying to figure out what animal it was from. Reiko slowly wagged it, watching as his eyes followed. A snicker gave away her game and she had to cover her mouth. The boy looked up and glared at her. She grinned. This'll be fun. Haru was looking at the both of them but rolled his eyes and looked away.

"How can they be human? They have ears and a tail. Plus, they have strange hair and eye colors. Reiko laughed at the fact that Bryn and that boy had red hair. Not so strange, huh?

"Well, really, you guys have boring colors. Brown, yellow, black. Not much of a variety." Reiko said without meaning it to sound so rude. The blonde let out a humph and moved back to stand by the Kazekage. "In any case, we have neglected the fact of our names. I'm Matsuki Reiko, this is Bryn." her second sentence was much more formal as everyone returned to their original spots. Bryn still seemed to growl at the fact that she couldn't speak for herself.

"Haru." said, well, Haru. The Kazekage introduced everyone in the room.

"This is my oldest daughter, Temari, my son Kankuro, and Gaara." he gestured to all three of them. The fact that Gaara didn't have a sort of 'title' that went with him as the Kazekage's kids did made her feel strange like he was different somehow, and it wasn't his attitude that was the problem.

With every name, Reiko saw Bryn's nose twitch out of the corner of her eye. She was most likely putting everyone's sent to memory so she'd be able to tell them apart if something was awry. Reiko did the same and Haru probably did it as he stepped into the room.

"Well, since you've already agreed to my requirements, the only thing left to do is show you the house. I'll leave that to my children-"

"What?!"

"since I'm busy with other matters and affairs. Oh, and one more thing. Do not show your ears or tails to anyone of the village with the exception of the people in this room." The Kazekage, without waiting for a response, gave the two at his side a look and they sighed and nodded to him.

"Come on, this way." Temari was the one who lead the way with Kankuro close behind her. She seemed to be the most reasonable and responsible out of all of them. Well, Reiko couldn't really say for sure about Gaara who followed behind. His chakra was extremely prominent. Reiko kept that feeling in mind.

Bryn was giving Reiko a look that said she wanted to say something. Reiko nodded and grasped onto Bryn's hand as she reached out. The connection was made. They looked forward again.

"What's wrong?" Reiko asked through the mind connection they made.

"I don't like the feeling of that guy." Bryn warned.

"The one behind us?" Reiko asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Don't you feel that?"

"The chakra? Yeah. It's really powerful. I wonder how strong he is."

"Don't let your guard down around him. I don't trust him. He feels… wrong. Like he's insane." Reiko put on a smile.

"Well, it wouldn't be all that different from you."

"This isn't something to joke about Reiko! He seems really dangerous!" She made a stern face at her.

"Alright. I'll be careful. You be careful too, alright?"

"I will."

"Good."

They let go and the connection was lost just in enough time for Reiko to focus on the enormous house set in front of them. It wasn't too far from the Kazekage tower and it seemed to take up quite a bit of room in the village. More than four normal houses wide and three stories high. Though it has a magnificent size, it would have looked better if it were a color other than brownish-yellow. Following everyone into the house, Reiko was surprised to see the walls painted a blinding white. The full interior was so grand, Reiko was sure that she wasn't in bland, old suna anymore. There was a red carpet and it lead all the way up to the top of the staircase that was presented in front of them. It was so different compared to the small house they were living in up in the mountains.

"Since my father didn't tell me where you all were staying," Temari said, getting everyone's attention, "I'll have to go ask what rooms were prepared. Stay here for a moment." She spoke quite coldly and Bryn made a face at her back as she left the room. The two boys were off on their own once they entered the house.

The family was left to take in the sight. Bryn gazed at it sadly. Both Haru and Reiko knew what was wrong. She missed the humble home we had isolated in the mountains. Haru was sure Reiko did too, just as he missed it. No one had a chance to say anything they were thinking because Temari came back.

"Follow me." She barked, heading up the stairs. Everyone followed as they were guided around turns and bends, committing everything to memory so they wouldn't get lost later but they could always just jump out of the window. Suddenly, Temari stopped.

"Okay, these three rooms" she pointed, "are yours to choose from. Dinner is always at seven in the dining room. Make sure you're there in time. We won't bother to wait for you. The Kazekage and Gaara usually don't come to dinner so it'll just be us five eating." Without waiting for a response, she left them to their own devices with the final words, "Do what you want to the rooms."

"Oh god…" Haru said with a smile. Reiko made a mental note to go to the paint store later and by the look on her face, so did Bryn.

**-cut-here-**

Reiko hummed as she twirled about in Bryn's room while she was on her bed painting her nails black. She had done Reiko's rainbow earlier and she was mainly spinning so the air would dry them. Bryn looked up and smiled as she knew the exact song she was humming. They made it when they were younger and had high hopes for the world in front of them. Bryn began to sing:

As sly as a fox, as strong as an ox

As fast as a hare, as brave as a bear

As free as a bird, as neat as a word

As quiet as a mouse, as big as a house

Reiko giggled and joined in singing as Bryn got up to dance with her. They acted like children and spun around.

All I wanna be, all I wanna be, oh

All I wanna be is everything

As mean as a wolf, as sharp as a tooth

As deep as a bite, as dark as the night

As sweet as a song, as right as a wrong

As long as a road, as ugly as a toad

Jumping up onto the bed, Reiko pulled Bryn up as they bounced up and down on the bed to the beat of the music.

As pretty as a picture hanging from a fixture

Strong like a family, strong as I wanna be

Bright as day, as light as play

As hard as nails, as grand as a whale

Bryn used genjutsu to throw around bright colors that resembled the northern lights. They glided around the room silently, adding to the fun atmosphere.

All I wanna be oh, all I wanna be, oh

All I wanna be is everything

Everything at once

Everything at once, oh

Everything at once

As warm as the sun, as silly as fun

As cool as a tree, as scary as the sea

As hot as fire, cold as ice

Sweet as sugar and everything nice

As old as time, as straight as a line

As royal as a queen, as buzzed as a bee

As stealth as a tiger, smooth as a glider

Pure as a melody, pure as I wanna be

All I wanna be oh, all I wanna be, oh

All I wanna be is everything

Everything at once

On the last word, they both fell to the bed and laughed as they did when they were little. Breathing out a happy sigh, Bryn began to talk.

"I love that song." she mumbled, winded. Reiko was panting as well but managed a soft giggle.

"Me too." There was a knock on the door.

"It's almost dinner time. Lets start heading down." It was Haru. Reiko sat up and stretched.

"On our way." She heard his footsteps walking down the hall. "Ready for thee most awkward dinner ever?" The question was asked with a grin.

"Always." Bryn replied ironically. Getting up, Reiko nearly carried the girl out of bed and through the halls. She took the steps four at a time. She would have just glided down them but she wanted to stay on guard as Bryn asked her to.

After reaching the bottom, Reiko saw Bryn slide down the banister and chuckled. She'd have to remember to do that next time. They held hands as they skipped towards the smell of food. Haru was already in the dining room, breaking the ice. He had Kankuro nearly rolling on the floor and Temari trying to stop laughing at her brother's reaction to the joke. Instead of the expected blank face, Temari greeted them with a smiling face and a wave. Reiko waved back and let a smile take over her face. This wasn't going to be as hard as she thought.

**-cut-here-**

**Warning! This has suicidal singing in it. I do not promote suicide or self harm but this is just a small look for Gaara at how weird Haru, Bryn, and Reiko really are. It's not necessary to the story so if you aren't ****partial to that sort of talk then please don't read this next part! Thank you!**

**-cut-here-**

Reiko, Haru, and Bryn took to the roof at night. The dinner was an extreme success and they got to know Kankuro and Temari a bit better. Afterwards, they felt like spending some time together like they used to. Since they didn't need as much sleep as other humans, they could spend a few hours up on the roof after the bustle of the city died down and be perfectly rested by tomorrow. They were quite happy to hang out up on the roof though Gaara was pretty peeved that they stole his spot. He chose another roof nearby.

Bryn was kicking her feet and looking down at the ground instead of at the waxing crescent.

"Hey, brother?" She asked in a voice she didn't use often.

"Yes?" He responded.

"Will you sing that other song about being on the edge of the roof. Something about suicide or something." Haru chuckled.

"Sure. Lemme think for a moment… Ah, now I remember. How about you two sing the chorus with me?" Reiko and Bryn nodded eagerly. It was a rarity to hear Haru sing. Apparently, he did it a lot when he was young but he doesn't sing much anymore and he'll never tell why. He tapped out a beat on the roof and started to sing.

My legs are dangling off the edge

The bottom of a bottle is my only friend

I think I'll slit my wrists again

And I'm gone, gone, gone, gone

Gaara looked up at the roof as he started to hear singing. He was instantly confused. Why were they singing? Hardly anyone sang around here.

My legs are dangling off the edge

A stomach full of pills didn't work again

I'll put a bullet in my head

And I'm gone, gone, gone, gone

Gaara made a face at the lyrics. Why would anyone sing about this?

Gone too far, yeah I'm gone again

It's gone on too long, tell you how it ends

I'm sitting on the edge with my two best friends

One's a bottle of pills, one's a bottle of gin

I'm twenty stories up, yeah up at the top

I'll polish off this bottle, now it's pushing me off

Asphalt to me has never looked so soft

I bet my mama found my letter, now she's calling the cops

I gotta take this opportunity before I miss it

'Cause now I hear the sirens and they're off in the distance

Believe me when I tell you that I've been persistent

'Cause I'm more scarred, more scarred than my wrist is

I've been trying too long, with too dull of a knife

But tonight I made sure that I sharpened it twice

I never bought a suit before in my life

But when you go to meet God, you know you wanna look nice

Bryn got up and started to dance first, later pulling a laughing Reiko up with her. They spun around in a circle, enjoying the surprisingly chilly night air and Haru's voice.

So if I survive, then I'll see you tomorrow

Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow

My legs are dangling off the edge

The bottom of a bottle is my only friend

I think I'll slit my wrists again

And I'm gone, gone, gone, gone

My legs are dangling off the edge

A stomach full of pills didn't work again

I'll put a bullet in my head

And I'm gone, gone, gone, gone

Haru even stood and started to dance with them, lifting Bryn up as he threw out her arms, giggling and laughing, pretending to fly.

We hit the sky, there goes the light

No more sun, why's it always night?

When you can't sleep, well, you can't dream

When you can't dream, well, what's life mean?

We feel a little pity but don't empathize

The old are getting older, watch a young man die

A mother and a son and someone you know

Smile at each other and realize you don't

You don't know what happened to that kid you raised

What happened to the father who swore he'd stay?

I didn't know 'cause you didn't say

Now mama feels guilt, yeah mama feels pain

When you were young you never thought you'd die

Found that you could but too scared to try

You looked in the mirror and you said goodbye

Climb to the roof to see if you could fly

He set her down and began to spin Reiko, Bryn dancing around them as Reiko did when he was lifting Bryn.

So if I survive, then I'll see you tomorrow

Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow

My legs are dangling off the edge

The bottom of a bottle is my only friend

I think I'll slit my wrists again

And I'm gone, gone, gone, gone

My legs are dangling off the edge

A stomach full of pills didn't work again

I'll put a bullet in my head

And I'm gone, gone, gone, gone

Reiko went to the edge of the roof, put on her child's voice, and reached her arms out as if they were her wings.

I wish that I could fly

Way up in the sky

Like a bird so high

Oh, I might just try

I wish that I could fly

Way up in the sky

Like a bird so high

Oh, I might just try

Oh, I might just try

She wished at that moment to spread her wings and take flight but knew she couldn't. She happily laughed anyways since she got to hear a song from Haru. He hadn't sang in quite a while. Maybe almost a year. She hoped that would change. Haru smiled and they all went back inside together. Today… was a pretty good day.

**-cut-here-**

**Hello! Welcome to my very first story! I'm really excited to be on here. I started on Quotev but that place is a mess so I decided that I wanted someplace that was a little more controlled. Since this is my first story, you can put ANYTHING you want in the reviews. Flames, criticisms, compliments, all are allowed. Don't feel afraid to give me suggestions on where this story can go. I have a general outline but give me ideas for fluff chapters. What do you want to see as a sort of 'pastime' for my characters? Also, if you want to message me or whatever, do so! Oh, by the way, the 'cut here' thing symbolizes time jumps. Thank you for tuning in!**

**~ Reiko Matsuki**

**Songs:**

**1) Everything At Once by Lenka**

**2) Bullet by Hollywood Undead**


	2. Chapter 2: Fighting? Oh my!

Only the next day did Haru tell them that they had to test their strength against quite powerful opponents to see how strong they are and if they could handle hard missions. His test would be tomorrow and up against a more difficult foe then they will have. What he didn't tell them was that if they were not deemed strong enough, they would be cast out and that would be the end of them. There was no way they could survive now. They needed all the help they could get.

Bryn huffed as she was up first. She was paired against Kankuro, the Kazekage's own son. Immediately, she threw off her cloak, mumbling something about how it would hinder her. Reiko would probably do the same. Drawing her swords at her side, she readied for an attack from him. Neither knew the fighting style of the other so she was particularly on her toes. A random man stood between them and explained how this entire thing would go down. From the sidelines, Reiko could tell that both were lost in each other's determined stares to notice.

Anxious for the battle, Bryn put on one of her favorite outfits. Every outfit she had was battle material. It was a long cheongsam type top, black with a red tiger and red flowers on the front. Her shorts were black and she had fishnet on her legs that led down to her ninja boots, accustom to the snow. Those were black as well. Her nails were painted black with her hair up in a high ponytail. Kankuro looked like he did when they met him.

Reiko on the other hand had on her usual outfit. It was nearly exactly like Bryn's but her's had purple flowers and no animal on it. The only other thing that was different was the wings on the back that so sharply stood out, seeing as it was rainbow. Instead of black shorts, she had a black skirt with a jagged edge. Her nails were rainbow, well, as rainbow as you can get with nail polish. Her hair was down and untamed as always. She didn't wear fishnet but the boots were the same.

The man asked if they were ready.

"Always." Bryn said gruffly while Kankuro just nodded. The man threw his hand down, shouting, "Begin!"

Bryn burst forward yet skidded to a halt when wrappings on the mummy like thing Kankuro carried around were pulled off. She stared at it for a moment, surprised to see it looked like a puppet. It got up, seemingly on it's own and made for Bryn. A clicking noise resonated from it's wooden looking body. Bryn gasped and dashed to the side only for it to come after her. With a growl, she made for a nearby wall and ran up it, looking back to see it follow her yet again. Frustrated, she stopped, turning around and thrusting her blade at it.

Bryn watched to see what it would do. It seemed to fall limp when the blade sunk deep into it's torso. With a sudden flash, it's head snapped up and it thrust a hidden blade at her. A yelp of surprise reached Reiko's ears. A quick, graceful flip to the ground kept her safe, save for a rapidly beating heart. Her ears back and her tail down.

Panting, Bryn tried to calculate her and his next move. The clicking. Doing a sudden, sloppy role forward, she escaped the blade again, dropping a katana. She heard the crude chuckle of Kankuro and glared at the ground.

"Pull yourself together. You can do this." she whispered to herself.

"What's the matter? Too much for you?" No response. "Let me end it quickly then!" the puppet flew towards Bryn but she stayed down. Reiko's ears went down and she gasped.

Suddenly, the puppet was lost in a huge burst of flames and so was Bryn. Everyone stared but Reiko who threw her fist into the air.

"Yeah! Go Bryn! Show this guy who's boss!" she was giggling and her happy face was back. Out of the huge ball of fire came the puppet. Bryn was nowhere to be seen but Kankuro was too busy trying to pat out the fire to care. A gasp came from Temari's lips as a small fireball came flying out of the larger one which dissipated quickly. She shouted a warning to Kankuro who let out a yip as he had to roll to the side to dodge it. Surprisingly, the fireball went up the wall and did a small half loop, heading towards Kankuro again.

"What the-!" A strong hit sent Kankuro flying to the wall behind him. He skidded to a stop on his ass and looked at the fireball as it stopped where he was a moment ago. Holding his jaw, Kankuro pondered aloud, "Wait.. that wasn't a fireball, that's Bryn!" An evil laugh was heard and she came at him again. Quickly, Crow was in her way. She ignored it till it sliced a deep wound into her shoulder.

With a sharp turn, she came at crow who easily took the challenge. She matched her blade to the puppet's hidden one. Or 'ones' as she just learned. A blade in the puppet's other arm came at her head. Jumping back, she looked at her fallen katana and made a mad dash for it.

The clicking was close on her heels. When she was close, she stabbed one katana into the ground and used it to swing around, sweeping the other katana off the ground, and faced Crow. The flames on her body seemed to make Kankuro keep crow at a distance so he didn't burn up. Her arm still hurt but she ignored the pain so she could beat him.

Bryn went blade to blade with the puppet for quite a while before she was panting and her flames died out. Her knees were shaking and she fell back. Kankuro, who got off his lazy ass a while ago, laughed.

"That took a lot longer to kick in then it does for any normal person." He said dickishly. Bryn looked at him as she moved to her knees, trying to get up.

"What… do you… mean?" She was panting so hard, it interfered with her speech. Reiko stared on in worry. Kankuro just laughed again.

"Well, look at Crow's blades. Don't they look weird to you?" As Bryn glanced up at them, her vision became blurred but she could tell they were still strangely colored. "That's poison. And I've landed a hit. Good luck trying to beat me now." He spoke smugly.

"Poison? But what if he kills her?!" Reiko asked, looking up to Temari. She took a small peek down at her and smirked.

"That's not my problem, nor do I think it's Kankuro's or Gaara's. Why should we care if you die." Reiko glared and growled at the girl but said no more.

Weakly, Bryn stood again. Her knees were shaking even worse now and she stumbled as she tried to block attacks that came at her.

"Humph, she has no chance against Kankuro. There's no way she could possibly get close enough to him in this state. Crow will keep him safe till she runs out of steam, then he'll just let her die." Reiko looked at her ruefully.

"What is he controlling that thing with?" Reiko asked. She was surprised to see Gaara here as well. He was in the shade of the wall, out of the way of everyone.

"Chakra strings." Temari answered proudly. A small giggle escaped the lips of Reiko as her mood lighten extremely. "What?" Now she was snickering. Temari put on a harsh face, glaring at her. "What!?" Now Reiko was laughing, rolling on the ground.

"CHAKRA STRINGS!" she laughed. Bryn looked back with a thankful smile at her blurry sister.

Suddenly knowing what to do, Bryn made a wobbly dash for Kankuro, Crow fast on her heals. She pumped chakra to her eyes, trying to focus her view. Finally, she found them. Gripping her katanas harder, she made a swift, beautiful sweeping motion. Well, as beautiful as she could be right now. Crow fell. Kankuro gasped.

"What?!" He shouted. Bryn looked up at him, a wicked grin on her face as her eyes turned to slits. This pulled a sacred sound from Kankuro's throat. Bryn threw her katanas down and fisted her hands. Kankuro backed up into the wall. Bryn stepped forward. Flooding her feet with chakra, bursting forward. A sound louder than a bomb sounded off. Sand and dust was kicked up everywhere, shrouding Bryn and Kankuro in it. Temari gasped.

"Kankuro!" She yelled through the dust. As it settled, Kankuro was up against the wall, a huge, spiderwebbed crack right to side of his head. The cause of it? Bryn's fist. She was laughing as she saw his face.

"Now, you fuck, give me the antidote before I kill you right here and now." His hands trembled as he reached into his pouch and pulled out a little vial with a purple liquid in it. Taking it without a 'thanks' Bryn drank it all in one go. She collapsed to the ground and just panted there. With a small skip in her step, Reiko came over to her and leaned down to inspect her.

"So, how are you doing?" She asked as the man watching over the match walked up. Bryn flipped off Reiko, earning a small chuckle. "I'm assuming that means you'll live then?" Bryn nodded.

"So," started the announcer, "how are you? Will you be alright." Just another nod. The medic nins seemed to be on standby somewhere nearby because they came out of nowhere and inspected Kankuro as they took Bryn somewhere. Reiko was going to follow her but she was stopped by the announcer dude. "You have your own match to fight, you have to stay." Reiko hesitated but looked at him then to her sister and decided to do as he said. Turning around, she saw Temari taking her time with walking over to them. When she stopped, the announcer spoke to them, "Same rules as with the last match. Go!"

Temari instantly jumped back, getting distance between them. Reiko just plonked down on her butt, waiting to see the girl's first move. She looked perplexed at the random action of her opponent. She had her fan out before the man even called the match to a start but she seemed to be a bit hesitant to attack with it.

"F-fine! If you won't go first, I'll blow you away right now!" She swung the fan but all it did was kick up a lot of sand and fling around Reiko's hair. She childishly blew a piece out of her face and coughed as some of the sand got into her mouth. "W-what?" Temari murmured. "Why aren't you even fazed by that attack?! You're fine!" Reiko only stared, not bothering to speak.

She seemed to change tactics and came at Reiko head on, swinging her now closed fan to hit her but it stopped close to Reiko's face. Feeling a gaze on her, she looked in the direction of Gaara, pulling the fan down slightly so she could see him. His eyes were fixed on her in what looked like surprise though the rest of his face didn't show it. Looking back to Temari, she had thrust a fist at her only for it to not make contact. Reiko rolled her eyes and stood. Noticing her fan was on the ground, Reiko eye'd Temari carefully. Boy did this girl have a temper for her to throw down her only weapon. Feeling sorry for her, she allowed a punch. It landed right on her nose. The punch was strong enough to throw her head back but not knock her off balance. Blood dripped down her lips and dripped to the ground from her chin.

Holding her nose, she tilted her head back to it's normal position and took in Temari's surprised and scared face. Reiko lifted a fist till it was about an inch from her chest and thrust it forward, hitting the other girl back. Unlike Kankuro, she landed on her feet but held the spot where she was hit, wheezing. Must have knocked the wind out of her. Picking up Temari's fan, Reiko chucked it towards her. It stopped a few feet in front of her.

"Pick it up." Reiko ordered in a cheerful voice even though she had a river of blood coming out of her nose. Doing as she was told, Temari soon wielded her fan again. She raised it in her defence but abruptly switched to offence with a sharp swing. Reiko was blown away and rolled to a stop a couple feet away from where she was standing. With a smile made of malice and more blood coming from her body, she stood. Reiko waited for Temari to take another swing before she dashed off to one side, coming at the girl. She continuously sent strong pulses of wind towards Reiko but she was too predictable. With one small burst of chakra, she made it to Temari who gasped in response. Gaining her composure quickly, she closed her iron fan and aimed it at Reiko's head. It hit her square in the cheek. Using the momentum to her advantage, she spun, lifting her foot and hitting Temari the same way she hit her.

Temari stumbled back and as did Reiko while she tried to get her balance. They were both in close combat now, using her fan to try and blow her away would be too difficult. With a new plan, Temari came at her again. Reiko waited to see what she'd do. Digging her fan into the ground, she swung her own kick at Reiko. It was aimed for her chin but never made contact. She caught it. Kicking her fan out from under her, letting her fall.

Temari still had a hold of her fan but she was down on the ground coughing. With a smug smirk, Reiko gazed down at the blond on the ground. Their eyes met and Temari seemed to be at a loss for words or actions. Reiko pulled out a kunai and was going to throw it down beside Temari's head to symbolise that she had won but she didn't get the chance. Within the blink of an eye, Temari had opened and swung her fan.

Reiko tumbled quite a few feet away. She stopped her ragged breath and sporadic heart rate before standing again. When she looked in the direction of her opponent, she was surprised to see her struggling to stand. She let Temari get her footing before getting back into a fighting stance. Temari did as well. Holding her fan out to the side, Reiko could tell she was about to swing it again. They stared, unmoving. Attempting to read each other's thoughts. Both were unreadable. With a sharp gleam in her eye, Temari snapped the fan up again, sending a huge gust Reiko's way.

This time, Reiko was ready and crouched, wings sprouting from her back. When the wind hit her, she jumped and allowed her wings to catch the quickly moving air. Sailing into the sky, she gracefully made a swoop down. Out of nowhere, a large boost of speed sent her zipping in Temari's direction. She wasn't even able to make a sound before a foot connected with her head. She crashed into the ground, tumbling and skidding lifelessly. Reiko watched Temari grind to a hault.

"TEMARI!" Kankuro yelled, darting to his sister. He checked her pulse and let out a relieved breath when there was still a beat in her veins. With a sudden rage in his head, he trudged over to Reiko who was staring at Gaara. He was staring back. The angry words and pushes and prods from Kankuro were lost on her as she could only think one thing.

"I want to fight him." She mumbled softly, interrupting Kankuro.

"What?" He said, looking over his shoulder at Gaara. He looked back with a sneer on his paint-smeared face. "Great, maybe he could kill you for me." With that, Kankuro turned away and walked after Temari who was being taken away on a stretcher.

"I want to fight you." Reiko said to Gaara. His eyes narrowed slightly but he pushed off the wall, taking his sweet time getting to the fighting area.

**-cut-here-**

Bryn watched from the bed as Temari was brought in, bloodied and bruised. She laughed when Kankuro walked in after her.

"Damn, you both look like something the cat dragged in. Except you've been dead and rotting for a while."

**-cut-here-**

Gaara and Reiko were training arena. The others had left, probably because they didn't want to be there when the girl was squeezed dry of blood. Reiko was staring at Gaara with a look that didn't betray what she was doing, which was studying him, but with one of amusement. Gaara's face was blank, per the norm. His arms were crossed are Reiko's were on her hips. Her tail betrayed her calm look with excited twitches which she was sure Gaara noticed.

Her heel tapped with a certain beat that Gaara couldn't place but in an instant, Reiko was charging in his direction. Her body was softly propelled into the air but quickly turned deadly when she twisted and spun. Kicking her foot out, she felt it make contact with an immovable object. Pushing off of it and to a safe distance, she noticed it was sand. It stopped the kick. Man, he was quick with that stuff. He hadn't even flinched.

Reiko readied herself for another charge but was interrupted by what felt like a slash from a sword across her shoulder. With a yelp and a jump, she had turned to see what it was. Sand. Right. She's in a desert... More sand rose around her and he was at the ready. With every slice that came her way, she tried her best to dodge but the sand was everywhere! Everytime, she got injured in some way. A cut from the sand, a bruise from a roll. She felt helpless against the sand. Sadly, she realized what he was doing, after who knows how many cuts and bruises, that he was toying with her. She couldn't hurt him but he could hurt her. And he loved it.

Clenching her fists, she stood tall, taking all of the hits. After a while, Gaara stopped and watched her. She suddenly seemed so serious but she was just letting herself get pulverized? Her head was down and she refused to move. Slowly her mouth moved and Gaara strained to hear what it was but it was over before it could register. Finally, she looked up at him, pupils slits and in attack mode. She began to make her way to him and since she was alive and kicking again, he began his attack. Only with small still but her skin was unbroken. No blow seemed to be hitting its mark. With confusion in his eyes, he stopped attacking and watched as she made her way to him.

He didn't speak or move. She seemed angry and he was curious, what did she think she could do to him? Any attack, especially at that speed, would never hit. She was just doing a quick, pissed off walk in his direction. When she reached him, she did nothing but stand directly in front of him with her fists clenched and her teeth bared. He thought it was interesting that her eyes changed like that so he studied them, unaware of the danger he was in. Reiko coated her fist in the darkness she controlled and threw for a right hook, using the darkness to part the sand for her. Her fist came in contact with Gaara's cheek and he reeled to the side, making strained noises of pain.

Looking back at her, he had a look of surprise that was so priceless, Reiko couldn't help but laugh. A drawn out 'oh my god' was heard behind them. With her fit of laughter still going strong, she looked back to see the two siblings and Bryn. Bryn seemed unfazed but the look on Temari and Kankuros' faces sent her to the floor. As she was in her own world of hilarity, Gaara stood straight and used all of the sand he was going to bother to control at the time to smash down on her. He grinned as she didn't move and expected to see her dead but as the sand and dust he kicked up moved away, all that was left was a happy, grinning Reiko who was keeping her fit under control... for the moment.

"So…" a small giggle, "how'd that work for you, Gaara?" she spoke in a mocking voice that drove Gaara mad. She should be dead! Why isn't she dead?! He lifted more sand for another assault only to find her unharmed again. Attack after attack, Gaara only drained his chakra more and more. Reiko had stood long ago and now looked bored as she couldn't even get a word in before Gaara was wildly throwing 'punches' again. When he worked himself up so much to the point where he had to stop, Reiko took a look up at him from her nails. "Done?"

"You stupid mutt! What makes you so much better than me that I can't even hit you anymore?" Reiko ignored his question and examined his face.

"Man, your cheek is purple. You should get an ice pack for that or something because I think it's swollen." She poked at it, making Gaara flinch back in pain, holding it. With small growl he spoke again.

"Don't touch me." he had a face of disgust on but Reiko couldn't help but let out another giggle, making Gaara want to rip her head off.

"You know, there's no point in fighting me anymore. Neither of us will win. We'll just run out of chakra." She shrugged. Gaara wasn't listening but plotting something. He wanted to get back in control and end this fight by ending her life. In an instant, there was sand around Reiko's ankles and it started to travel up her body, covering her. "This isn't going to work, you know?"

Gaara ignored her, the lust of blood deafening him for the time being. All he could feel was the excitement at the prospect of blood and killing this girl who had so much power. Only then could he feel alive.

When the sand covered to Reiko's neck she wiggled about, not in panic but in discomfort. Sand was EVERYWHERE on her… possibly in her… ew. She stared into Gaara's eyes and at the last moment before they were covered, they made contact and the last thing Reiko saw was a confused gleam in his blue-green eyes before everything went black. It took Gaara a moment to recover from the look she had on her face. She _didn't care_. But how? He was about to kill her? Shaking the thoughts from his head, he lifted his hand, open palmed. With a short breath in, he finished it but not without protest.

"Gaara! No!" but it fell on deaf ears.

"Sand burial!" he shouted, snapping his hand shut. The sand crushed her and blood spewed about the place, landing everywhere, including on Gaara since he didn't bother to move. Temari and Kankuro flinched while Bryn stayed, arms crossed, calm look acting as a mask. Gaara smiled when he pulled the sand back to find only a mess of meat and blood.

With their mouths agape, Temari and Kankuro looked over at Bryn.

"How can you be so calm about this, Bryn?!" Yelled Kankuro.

"Reiko is dead!" shouted Temari as well. Bryn just shrugged and yawned which confused all of them, including Gaara.

"How can you just blow off her death like that?" Kankuro screamed right in Bryn's ear. She growled and pushed him away causing him to stumble.

"I can 'blow it off' because she's not dead." Everyone with their mouths agape, with the exception of Gaara (He just looked surprised), looked at her. "Look at what he crushed and look at his clothes." Suddenly, blood just turned into water and mangled corpse turned into a water dummy. Genjutsu.

"You couldn't let me have a little fun?" said an oh-so familiar voice as someone wrapped their arms around Gaara's shoulders. "The look of satisfaction on his face was so comical." Kankuro sighed and said something along the lines of 'Oh come on'. Gaara looked over his shoulder to see Reiko, scraped and bruised from earlier in their fight. He pried her off of him so he could face her.

"How are you not dead?!" he shouted. Reiko pouted slightly and crossed her arms in a sassy manor.

"You aren't happy to see me? Oh bother. How's your face?" she asked, pressing on the purple bruise that developed on Gaara's cheek… again. He slapped her hand away.

"Why won't you just die?!" he growled. He didn't attack again though because he saw no point in it for the time being. She had her guard up. He couldn't hit her.

"Simple." she spoke. Everyone waited for the next part of her sentence but it didn't seem like she was going to say it any time soon. Thankfully, Gaara sped things up a bit.

"What?!" Gaara nearly screamed, obviously throwing a temper tantrum. Reiko smiled.

"I'm not in the mood to die." with a smug grin on her face, she began walking back to her temporary home. Bryn followed her after a snort and a laugh. Gaara was fuming but let them go, screaming one last thing before they were out of sight.

"YOU STUPID MUTT!"

**-cut-here-**

Reiko was skipping down the hall of the huge house, Bryn walking at her side. They hadn't found anything of interest yet but Reiko was sure they would. Both where bandaged from head to toe… well, with the exception of the parts that weren't injured. Bryn needed stitches which she ignored till the doctor came to find her. She had skipped out on the stitches and dragged the sand siblings to the fight since she didn't trust Gaara to spare her life. She did realize that she underestimated her sister though. She expected her to fight to the death but she was smarter than that. Anyways, she had a sling around her neck since the doctor didn't want her pulling the stitches. At the moment, Bryn was only wearing it as a necklace (In other words, ignoring the doctor), her arms crossed but a small smile on her face at Reiko's childishness.

"So what do you expect we'll find? I doubt anything fun." Bryn thought, a hand on her chin.

"Are you kidding me? We're in a mansion, we could find anything in here!" Reiko threw her arms into the air excitedly.

"Most of these rooms are just guest rooms that are ENTIRELY empty. How is this gonna be intere-" Bryn stopped talking the moment Reiko stopped skipping. "What?" Reiko pointed down the hall and Bryn looked to see what it was. At the end of the dull hall, huge double doors loomed extravagantly. Reiko looked at Bryn with hopeful eyes before dashing off in that direction. Bryn just sighed and walked after her. Without waiting, Reiko flung open the doors to find a huge ballroom. Everything seemed to be fairly dusty.

"When was the last time someone had a fun party? No wonder they're in such a bad mood all the time, they don't know how to have fun. There was a small stage that Reiko could only assume was for the entertainment. With a smile, she jumped up onto the stage and ran around, connecting wires until finally, she pulled out a microphone.

"I dedicate this song to my longtime lover, Bryn." she shrugged and Bryn blew her a fake kiss.

Look inside,

Look inside your tiny mind

Then look a bit harder

Cos we're so uninspired

So sick and tired

Of all the hatred you harbour

So you say,

It's not okay to be gay

Well I think you're just evil

You're just some racist

Who can't tie my laces

Your point of view is medieval

Bryn jumped up on stage so she could sing with her sister.

Fuck you!

Fuck you very, very much

Cos we hate what you do

And we hate your whole crew

So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you!

Fuck you very, very much

Cos your words don't translate

And it's getting quite late

So please don't stay in touch

Do you get,

Do you get a little kick

Out of being small minded?

You want to be like your father

His approval you're after

Well that's not how you find it.

Do you,

Do you really enjoy

Living a life that's so hateful

Cos there's a hole where your soul should be

You're losing control of it

And it's really distasteful

Fuck you!

Fuck you very, very much

Cos we hate what you do

And we hate your whole crew

So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you!

Fuck you very, very much

Cos your words don't translate

And it's getting quite late

So please don't stay in touch

They began running around, singing 'Fuck you' till they just ended up back on the stage again.

So you say

You think we need to go to war

Well you're already in one

Cos it's people like you

That need to get slew

No one wants your opinion

Fuck you!

Fuck you very, very much

Cos we hate what you do

And we hate your whole crew

So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you!

Fuck you very, very much

Cos your words don't translate

And it's getting quite late

So please don't stay in touch

With smiles and many giggles, they skipped out of the room together. Bryn suddenly stopped and held her arm. She had a twisted look of pain. Reiko looked on in concern.

"I tore my stitches!" She mumbled in pain. Reiko snickered and ran from the fuming redhead. "Shut up! It's not funny!"

**-cut-here-**

Reiko was in Bryn's room, sprawled out on her bed, messing with the decorations she had dangling from the ceiling. They almost looked like cat toys. Reiko looked over at Bryn who was enjoying her time painting the wall.

"What are you painting?" Bryn just shrugged and looked at her with a small smirk.

"Why arent you painting anything in your room?" she asked, turning back to her work.

"I dunno… I don't have much inspiration right now. Also, I don't want to get up." Reiko smiled and Bryn just rolled her eyes. Suddenly feeling tired, she curled up on her side and watched Bryn paint some red thing till she fell asleep.

**-cut-here-**

**Well, thanks for reading this chapter. Also, Heather, even though Gaara is my love in this, he ain't got nothin' on you! Anyways, I'm glad a bunch of people have been checking out my story. Whether you all will stick with me or not is unknown. Chapters will not be regular just as a warning if I hadn't said anything already. Things should speed up soon. That's about all I wanted to say. Till next time!**

**~ Reiko Matsuki**

**Songs: **

**1) Fuck You by Lily Allen**


	3. Chapter 3: Memories And A New Mission?

"_Brother, brother! Look what I found!" Reiko yelled as her and her sister skittered up to him. Both of their ears and tails were wagging and twitching. Bryn's face was clear of any mark or even a speck of dirt on her preciously pale round cheeks and her eyes were ignorant of any pain. She looked over at the purple haired girl that held up a kind, tame white bunny and jostled her slightly._

"_Hey! I found it too!" Reiko nodded._

"_Yep, we found it together!" Haru laughed at the girls._

"_It's a beautiful rabbit." he said with a smile on his face. This caused both of the young ones to smile. Bryn turned around and went running of back towards the forest._

"_I'm going to go find one of my own!" She shouted over her shoulder. Reiko stood on her toes and waved her off. When she finally couldn't see her anymore, she turned around and pushed her bare feet through the snow towards her brother. When she got to the step of the porch her brother was sitting on, she joined him. She placed the bunny on her lap. As she pet it's damp fur, she let out a sigh which caught Haru's attention._

"_What's the matter, kit?" Haru inquired, turning his head to face her. She looked down at her new bunny, which she promptly named Snowflake, and pouted. While she thought, she rubbed the silky smooth ears of the little creature. When she finally knew what to say, she spoke._

"_In all of those books you read us, all of the children have a lot of friends. Bryn and I only have each other and you. Where are our friends? I've never even seen another kid in my life! And, her and I look… different from them!" she had a glare set on the powdery snow in front of them but it was drawn into a confused frown when Haru started to laugh._

"_You're so smart. There's no fooling you." his smile disappeared and he continued to talk. "You see, just like you said, you don't look like other children and I don't look like other adults. You and I are special, right? We're different and we have things they don't so they don't like us for that. Being different means we'll never fit in. Everywhere you go, you'll be judged for how you look so I moved us up here." Haru began to get this look upon his face. It was the one he used when he was getting excited about something or when he was telling a story. Suddenly he stood and raised his arms to the sky. "Don't you see the beauty in our own world, my little pup? The pristine white snow and our cozy little cabin. No one to judge us for MILES!" Reiko set down the bunny to listen to him more intently. "We can hunt, we can run, we can play," he lifted Reiko who squealed with happiness as she was spun so high off the ground, "and we can even fly! Don't you love the sound of that!" Reiko giggled and smiled with him for a moment before another frown marred her features._

"_But… you get to see the others, and you get to talk with them… Why don't you get judged like we will? That's not fair." Haru lowered her to his hip, holding her there._

"_I have to go so we can have food and books and all sorts of nice things. Also, they do judge me, they just don't say it out loud like some do. This is why you must always stay up here. This place is our home and always will be. Got it?" Reiko nodded grimly. Haru began to tickle her. "Got it, kit?!" Reiko laughed and giggled out a small 'yes'. "Good." In the distance, Haru could see a splotch of red on it's way towards them. "Now, go play." Haru let her down and she went running to meet her sister._

Reiko awoke from the light of the morning sun peeking over the wall of the city. She sat up and rubbed her face softly. The feeling in the pit of her stomach, she knew it. She wanted to see the white snow again. She wanted to prance through it and have snowball fights like they did when they were young. 'That's only a fairy tale now.' she thought to herself. "No matter how much I could want it now." she spoke aloud. Spending a moment to admire the sunrise, she hugged her knees and lay her head upon them, face to the window.

With her stomach now showing her something else she wanted with a low growl, she threw off the covers and headed to the bathroom, stopping to look at herself in the mirror. With a few different angles to look at herself with, she smiled and continued her journey.

The night before, she was awoken by Bryn who informed her it was dinner. They all apologized to each other-with the exception of Gaara who wasn't at dinner. It was the second night in a row. It was an obvious guess he was related to the other two siblings but they sure did have a weird relationship-and had a lovely rest of the evening… until there was an attempt made on her life. Yes. As she sat out on the roof, Gaara attacked her. She got away with only cuts and bruises but damn did he scare her. After he retreated, she went back inside and decided to keep her defences up while she slept.

After a quick shower and taking a brush to her hair, which didn't stop it from being a wavy, unruly mess, she put her hair up and went down stairs. Everyone who ate breakfast like a normal person was down there, chatting and laughing. Reiko joined them and thought of how to word what she wanted to say. Temari was in the middle of talking when she finally opened her mouth.

"He's pissed at me, isn't he?" She played with the food on her plate with her fork. Kankuro looked to Temari who caught his confused glare with a knowing one. Temari sighed then spoke.

"Yeah, Gaara's pretty mad." Haru looked away from the newspaper to give Reiko a look.

"Why? What happened Rei?" Reiko shook her head, not saying anything.

"Let me guess," Temari interrupted, "he tried to kill you, didn't he?" The table and all of it's contents shook with a sudden impact.

"Who?! That redhead?! I'll kill 'im!" Bryn growled. She went to stand and advance down the hall but Haru grabbed her by her tail and pulled her back into her seat. "OW! Let go!"

"No, no one is going to kill anyone." Haru spoke sternly. At that minute, Gaara walked through the hall and paused to look in and see what was happening. Bryn's ears flattened and her tail was flicking. Haru let go at the wrong time.

"YOU!" Bryn screamed as she made a mad dash for him. Reiko dove over the table at her, tackling her to the floor as she swore at him. "How dare you try to hurt her! When they let me up, I'll be after you faster than you can say mercy! If you thought she was strong then you're in for a treat!" Reiko was wrestling with her as Bryn was clawing her way to him. Annoyed now, as he always was around people, Gaara glanced up at the others for an explanation. Kankuro was laughing at the two. As was Haru. Too busy then? Temari seemed to be above it all and continued to eat while she looked over missions.

Not wanting to deal with the children anymore, he walked off to do what Gaaras do in their spare time. After a long time of struggling and scratching and biting, Haru broke up the fight and everyone returned to their seats. A thick silence enveloped them. Reiko was staring at the food she no longer wanted and sighed. Pushing her plate away, she stood and walked out; Reiko certainly needed some fresh air.

Once she was outside, a lungfull of dry, warm Suna air was enough to make her feel better. She sat on the steps and decided to sunbathe a bit. Her cloak was on her lap, she didn't feel like putting it on any time soon. And there was almost no point as a large sandstone wall surrounded the building. The only way out was through a fancy looking gate and it was quite a ways away. A small click made her ears shoot up and lead her head to look behind her. Bryn opened the door and stepped out. Her icy eyes glanced down at her with a look that spoke of anger, concern and a small hit of what Reiko could have sworn was fear… by why fear.

"You alright?" she asked, plopping down next to her sister. Reiko snorted with her nose crinkled in a smile.

"I should be asking you that!" She playfully prodded Bryn who smiled back. "You were about ready to kill that firecrotch."

"... I thought that was my nickname?" she thought with a disappointed look on her face.

"Well you don't have a carpet so…" Reiko grinned and shrugged. Bryn made a face of disapproval and slapped a hand over her sister's mouth.

"Don't say that so loud! Someone'll hear!" muffled sounds of laughter. Eventually it died down and Bryn took her hand off of Reiko's mouth. Reiko and Bryn stared up at the clouds together for a while; just watching as the fluffy white, candyfloss looking masses rolled on by. They were framed perfectly by the rich blue that surrounded them. It was apparently rare to see these kinds of clouds here. Reiko's large alburn tail softly thumped the ground, collecting little, golden grains of sand.

"Reiko…?" a small whisper of a voice said.

In the corner of her eye was the vision of Bryn with her knees to her chest and her head down. She never did that. Bryn was always so strong.

"What's the matter?" Reiko whispered back, noticing a familiar unstable chakra behind them. Bryn bit her lip.

"I miss it."

"You miss what?"

"Home."

"Oh Bryn." she pulled the fragile looking girl towards her chest and shushed her as she held back tears. No matter how delicate she could look at times, she always refused to cry.

_A large puddle of red stained the innocent white snow, tainting it. Reiko had one of Bryn's arms around her shoulders and lifted her up to drag her back to the house. Bryn's head was down. She was in a lot of pain judging by her short breaths. Reiko was panicking. She ran. Fast. Faster than someone with a broken leg should. Reiko tripped. She managed to keep Bryn and herself up. At that moment she could hear mumbles coming from her sister._

"_I will not cry. I will not cry." she almost silently growled to herself._

_She gazed on her sister in pain. She couldn't do anything. Heaving both her and her sister's body back up, she continued her run. With every step, a slice of pain shot up her mauled leg. Tears streaked her face already. A howl. Reiko flinched and Bryn nearly screamed. The howl was accompanied by another. Two more. Three more. Now they were uncountable. She pushed harder and harder. Faster and faster. Eventually she could see home but also hear the rustle behind her. They were close! Faster! Bryn groaned as more blood dripped from her face. Reiko stopped in her tracks as a rumble was heard. A growl. Too late._

"_Haru!" Reiko screamed, holding her sister to her chest as sharp fangs sunk into her back. Black._

_Suddenly, she awoke. The room is lit up by the flame of a single candle and gave a soft, calming glow to the room. It gave off the smell of pine like the one in her room… she was in her room? In her bed? But how? She could have sworn she…_

"_Bryn!" She yelled getting up only to crumble to the floor in pain._

_The door swung open and strong arms wrapped around her gently. Lifting her and setting her back on the bed._

"_Don't get up yet, kit. You need to heal." spoke the soft rumble of Haru's voice._

"_Where's Bryn!" she said in a panic. Haru pet her head._

"_She's fine. She'll make it too. You need rest." he spoke with a smile._

"_No! I wanna see her!" Haru sighed and nodded._

"_Alright. Here." He picked her up and took her down the hall to Bryn's room._

_When the door opened she wiggled so she could get a better look at her sister. Haru held her a bit more strongly so he didn't drop her and walked into the room. Bryn was fast asleep on her bed. Haru set her down next to her sister. She had bandages over her left eye. They were red where her eye was and Reiko slightly panicked._

"_Is… is her eye okay?" She questioned softly._

"_Yes. Her eyes are just fine. The cut didn't go deep enough to go through her eyelid. Thank god… I was more worried about her legs and arm anyways. There was a lot of damage done to them but nothing too serious was hit. It was a miracle. She'll go back to normal in a few weeks. Maybe a month." Haru smiled at Reiko. "You saved her, you know. She would have died out there."_

_Reiko couldn't help but let a few tears slip from her eyes. She was so happy that her sister would be fine that she didn't know what else to do but cry. Haru put his arm around her and wiped away a few tears._

"_Don't cry, kit." Reiko let out a short laugh._

"_But why not?"_

"Feelings are meant to be felt." Reiko said and looked down at her sister. She looked back up at her, tears finally letting themselves fall but only two or three before she straightened herself back up. Bryn pulled away from the warmth that was her sister and cleared her throat.

"Well, lets go out on the town, shall we?" Bryn laughed. Putting her cloak on, Reiko laughed. The unique chakra was still behind them and followed them out.

**-cut-here-**

Everyone stared or took multiple glances as they walked down the street, looking at all of the venders. It was probably because they were new there and the only ones wearing that type of cloak. It was one for the mountains. Heavy duty and black. Man, they must have really looked strange. Especially since they were buying everything they came across… food wise. After they visited every vender they could find in the immediate area, they wanted to play fight but it's not like they could with all of these people around. Well, they could as they did before, but it wouldn't be as interesting. Also, Reiko was a bit eager to get rid of Gaara. Yes, she finally placed that chakra to a person. Holding her sisters hand, she spoke in her mind.

"Wanna ditch the firecrotch?" she asked.

"I was wondering when you'd notice him."

"I noticed him back at the house I just didn't know who that chakra belonged to." Reiko giggled out loud.

"Idiot." Bryn said. They both ran into an alley and turned into their animals.

Reiko, instead of being a normal red fox used a transformation jutsu to make herself look like desert fox. Bryn looked like her normal self; she was black with white stripes, the opposite of a zebra. Both dashed out of the alley on the other side and made a sharp turn towards the gates. They were just going to play for a while so what did it matter.

Gaara's chakra seemed to be getting farther and farther away till he probably figured out why a _fox and cat _ran out instead of two humanoids. He started to catch up quickly, jumping across building tops probably. Both sisters pushed harder and blazed out of the gates, scaring the heck out of the guards. Gaara stopped before the gates and didn't chase any longer.

Finally they were far enough away to where the village was only a small bump in the distance. Reiko then faced Bryn head on.

"Ready for a fight?" she barked out.

"You're going down." she purred menacingly.

**-cut-here-**

"Haru! Haru!" Temari went skidding into the room when she threw the door open.

She stopped in her tracks and stared at the sight in front of her. Haru, entirely naked and wet, stared back. Her mouth dropped open and her cheeks flushed. She stumbled back out into the hall. Not really knowing what to do, Haru waved at her. She waved back but didn't stop… staring. Kankuro made his way around the corner, looking for Temari since he saw her sprinting down the hall. Gaara wasn't all that far behind since she went running after he told her what Bryn and Reiko did.

"What is it, Temari?" Kankuro asked. When he didn't receive a response, he walked towards her, Gaara following silently.

Kankuro waved his hand to get her attention but just decided to look at what she was looking at… bad idea.

"Ahhg! I'm blind!" Kankuro shouted as a loud laugh echoed out of the room.

When Gaara went to look Kankuro slammed the door shut and instantly Temari was back to normal. She looked at her brothers to see one rubbing his eyes like they burned and the other with his arms crossed.

"What was that?!" Kankuro asked. "Why were you staring at that?!" Temari bristled.

"I-I was not staring." She crossed her arms and looked away. "Just… looking."

"Bullshit! You were staring! Why?!"

"Kankuro…" she spoke his name as a warning.

At that moment, the door opened and out walked a clothed, half really, Haru. He had a towel around his pale broad shoulders and suddenly Gaara was slightly glad he didn't get to look at what was in Haru's room… Haru, scratching the back of his head out of embarrassment, laughed at the situation.

"I forgot that normal humans can't feel steam when it's really faint like that. Reiko and Bryn can tell when I'm taking a shower and don't bug me till I get out. Anyways, what did you need?"

Just the sight of him made Temaru blush but she spoke calmly, "Reiko and Bryn left the village."

Haru nodded, "Okay. Was there anything urgent that you wanted to bug me about?"

"I-isn't that urgent enough? They're gone!" She exclaimed. Kankuro seemed to be getting a bit worried as well. A laugh escaped Haru's lips.

"They'll come back. They wouldn't leave without telling me, whether I agreed with it or not. They know that. They'll come back." he smiled at her and she blushed. Kankuro rolled his eyes at his sister.

At that moment, a shinobi popped up in a puff of smoke. Suddenly, everyone's attention was on him.

"The Kazekage summons you." He spoke.

"Which one of us does he summon?" Temari asked.

"All of you, and the two girls as well." the sand siblings looked at Haru and he rolled his eyes, going back into his room to get ready.

**-cut-here-**

Temari escorted Haru to the top of the wall. Why? She had no clue. He just said that's how he would get Bryn and Reiko to come back. The guards seemed on edge and all staring at the same thing; a large, currently forming crystal fortress in the distance. Haru laughed at their shocked faces. Gaara stared at what he saw in the distance. Who was crating that? No way… Bryn and Reiko were… but how? A whistle shattered the air and everyone cover their ears for fear of losing their hearing. The small explosions in the distance stopped and two figures made their way to him… fast. Everyone was ready for the worst and nearly lost it when they scaled the huge wall with one leap. Both figures threw themselves at haru and caught them with ease despite the power and speed they had. Everyone relaxed when they saw the two teenage girls, hugging and snuggling him like two happy puppies.

"Great. Let's go to the tower." Temari said with a smile.

Haru carried them all the way there like he did when they were little.

**-cut-here-**

"WHAT?! OH HELL NO!"

"BRYN! STOP!"

"GET OFF OF ME! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

"Like you could."

"Gaara!"

"What."

"Uh-nothing!"

"COME HERE YOU FIRECROTCH!"

Reiko watched on with the extremely frightened genin that was being assigned to Bryn and Reiko's team. He was scared of Gaara when he first walked in but now it seemed as though his fear was now directed at the fuming cat-human who was currently clawing the floor in an attempt to get to her target.

**-cut-here-to-a-few-minutes-ago-**

"Now that you're all here, I can talk about your current assignment. I need two three genin groups to accomplish this mission and since you only have two and an unofficial jounin, you won't be able to go." spoke the Kazekage, perched on the edge of his chair.

Bryn rolled her eyes, "Then why'd you ask us to come if we aren't going to be a part of this mission?"

"You will be a part of it." Before anyone else could interrupt, he went on. "I have picked out the best genin I could find for this mission. He will now be a permanent part of your group. Haru will be your leader." he placed three Suna headbands on the desk in front of him. "I'm making you three official shinobi of the sand." They all picked up a headband and held it.

"That's all fine and dandy but where's our new teammate?" Bryn scoffed. A small hint of a smirk graced the Kazekage's lips before disappearing.

"His name is Adishia, Corro. Send him in." He spoke the last sentence loud enough for the people on the other side of the door to hear him.

The door opened and in walked the genin. He was hot… REALLY hot. His skin was a dark tan color. Green locks fell in small strips, some blocking the view of his ocean blue eyes. He wore a fishnet shirt with full sleeves. A thin, black, undone vest draped itself across his muscular frame. The pants he wore were tight on him and were also black. I guess he didn't get the memo that they lived in a fucking desert. He wore the standard issue ninja sandals as well.

"Damn…" Bryn said out loud.

Reiko laughed at her sister. Suddenly, the boy seemed pretty shaken up at whatever was behind them. Reiko turned and looked. Gaara was staring at him with a pretty intense glare. Hearing a glare, her gaze was drawn to her sister who was also looking at Gaara. Her glare was the same as Gaara's.

"What's the matter with you, firecrotch?" Bryn growled, drawing Gaara's attention away from the genin. "Jealous?" The boy paled, feeling like he was going to be the one to get attacked for that comment.

"Are you?" Gaara asked.

"WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING?!" Gaara looked away and ignored the readhead.

"WHAT?! OH HELL NO!"

This is going to be one of the worst missions…. Ever.

**-cut-here-**

**Hey! Thanks for holding out this long if you did. Sorry I didn't update for a while, personal stuffs. Well, tell me how you like it in the reviews and be as honest as you'd like. Also, my girlfriend is going through my other chapters and finding mistakes for me so they'll be updated pretty soon. There wasn't a song in this one only because I didn't really get to where I wanted to be. I was going to go farther but I felt like you guys wanted this chapter up earlier so here it is. Well, see you next time!**


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